What a turn of events for the Will Smith on the Dodgers. His two competitors for Most Liked Will Smith have had terrible years. One of them has been very inconsistent in the Braves bullpen, and I think the other guy did something bad too.
Smith, ever since coming up in 2019, has been a very nice choice at catcher for the Dodgers. I don't think Austin Barnes holds any ill will, he was already leaning towards a backup anyway in the year without Yasmani Grandal, and he's still a perfectly suitable backup even now. Smith is just not only the better all-around defender, especially this season, but he's a pretty nice hitting catcher, with 47 RBIs and 14 home runs so far this season. What I find fascinating is that LA is a city of stars, and a city of big players, and when the All-Star rosters came out, a lot of big Dodgers missed the cut. Freddie Freeman eventually got on, so did Tyler Anderson, but the big cry from Dodger fans, as well as sports fans, was 'where is Will Smith?'. And that speaks volumes. Smith may not be as starry as Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman or Clayton Kerhsaw, but I cannot imagine this team without him. And while Buster Posey's retirement made the NL catching field slightly less crowded, you still have great catchers like Will Smith, J.T. Realmuto and Tyler Stephenson missing out.
Again, I blame Brian Snitker putting BOTH of his catchers on the roster, but...you know, it's almost August, so what's the point.
Smith is a major contributor for a Dodgers team who has slowly caught up to the Yankees in dominance. Both teams have 31 losses as I write this, and while the Yankees have more wins, the Dodgers arguably have been stronger lately, only losing three games since the month began. Unlike the Yankees, the Dodgers haven't lost a starter in this time, and have relied upon Kershaw, Anderson, Gonsolin, Urias and Mitch White the entire time. Even Kimbrel's beginning to pick up.
And while the Yankees have come out with a bench player that no one expected to perform again in Matt Carpenter, the Dodgers have one of their own. Trayce Thompson was a bench favorite in 2016, and has bounced around the leagues like clockwork ever since. Now, after reuniting with the Dodgers, Thompson is batting .300 with 3 home runs and 14 RBIs in 26 games. He may not have the brunt force of Carpenter, but he's a standout that can really help this team down the stretch if he keeps it up. And seeing that Chris Taylor is out for a little while, Thompson might be starting a ton more games in left. How about that in 2022?
I think the Dodgers are a comfortable favorite in the NL, but like the Yankees, they come with the predictability quality. If they're the best in July, there's no way they'll be the best in October, right? The Dodgers do have a strong enough overall group, but they need to start tightening in areas like the lower lineup and bullpen before they can reliably coast in September. I'd be fine with this team making another World Series, possibly even doing a rematch of the 1978 World Series [please not the 2017 one though]. But they need to outdo everyone who wants to be the guy that knocked off the Dodgers, because if they blow another lead like this, well...they'll have more in common with the Yankees, I suppose.
Coming Tomorrow- A powerful outfielder who made the Red Sox pay this past week.
No comments:
Post a Comment